Michigan's bicycling rules of the road

Local Lowdown

Janssens owns Latitude 45 Bicycles and Fitness and Ride 45 Boards and BMX, both located in Petoskey. He is also a board member of Top of Michigan Trails Council.

“Back in the 1920s, cyclists were getting flat tires all the time. They started paving the roads for the bicycles, and cars came onto the roads,” he said. “The cars benefitted from it.”

His claim is supported by the organization League of American Bicyclists — formed originally in 1880 as The League of American Wheelmen in order to rally for paved roads.

While the use of roads has given over mostly to cars, trucks, motorcycles and semis, it is perfectly legal for bicyclists to share the road with cars.

According to Michigan’s motor vehicle code and Michigan law, bicyclists have to obey the same traffic laws as motorists — whether bicyclists are cycling Michigan roads or paths made specifically for bike traffic.

This includes signalling their turns or change in traffic. Bicyclists are also required to ride in the direction of traffic and stop at stop lights and signs. They’re also held to the same speed limits motorists are.

Bicyclists are also allowed to ride “as close as practicable” to the right-hand curb or edge of the road, according to the motor vehicle code. Cyclists can ride two abreast legally, though the state says single-file riding is the safer option.

This is where both car drivers and cyclists have to exercise more caution, said Janssens.

“It’s a little bit of a subjective scenario,” said Janssens. “A lot of times with roads, there are potholes where the road is cracking on the edge. The cyclist has to be able to veer around it.”

A car must take care to pass cyclists when it is safe to do so — not in a blind spot or on a short, steep hill.

“Legally, you’re supposed to move into the opposite lane and pass like a car, in a safe passing-zone,” said Janssens. “The scariest situation is when people choose to pass you close.”

Janssens has a few worries on his mind when he rides the roads — namely, drifting cars.

“We encourage people to avoid heavy traffic roads because of that exact instance,” said Janssens.

The problem comes when cars either drift or tailgate or both drift and tailgate.

“We’re taught in driving school to hold the center line,” said Janssens. “We need to err toward the center line, not toward the outside of the road.”

But, said Janssens, people tend to feel more comfortable hugging the outside of the road. That way, they are as far as possible from the center of the road if someone should cross it coming from the opposite direction. This could heighten the chance of a car clipping a bicyclist — especially when those cars are tailgating other cars or big trucks.

Those trucks could pass cyclists riding the edge of the road, and obscure the sight of the cyclists from the tailgating car until it’s too late.

“They can’t see anything in front of them,” said Janssens. “Like on U.S. 131, people come flying along up there and get stuck behind a truck. They can’t see anything but think, ‘Oh, my brakes work. I can stop really fast.’ But they don’t think about the fact that there may be a bunch of cyclists alongside the road.”

The closer quarters of downtown areas also present challenges for cyclists and motorists.

With the Little Traverse Wheelway running so closely to downtown Petoskey, the downtown sees a lot of bike traffic, said John Calabrese, public safety director.

If people do want to ride their bikes through downtown, they should continue to follow traffic control devices and signs. Cyclists can advance to the front of a line of cars at a stop sign or light, but only if there is a designated bicycle lane or shoulder on the right-hand side.

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“Bicylists cannot weave in and out of traffic, split lanes or otherwise behave in a way that would not be allowed by a motorist on the roadway,” said Jenny Jensen, associate director of League of Michigan Bicyclists.